Content: Student View

Student view of D2L Content page

1. From the Course Home page, click on [Content] in the main navigation bar
2. Click on [View Content] under “Content Areas” on the left

Note: “View Content” is what the students see when they click on the [Content] link in their main navigation bar.

* In order to see the student view of all of D2L: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2009/03/student-view.html

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – September 2011

Content: Hiding a module or topic

1. From the D2L Course Home page, click on [Content] on the main navigation bar.
2. Identify the Module or Topic you wish to hide.  Click [Edit...] (yellow “pencil” icon) located to the right of the title.
3. Click on the [Restrictions] tab.
4. Click to check the box beside “Hide this topic.”
5. Click on [Save].

Note: If you hide a Module, everything beneath that module (topics and sub‐modules) will also be hidden.


D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – September 2011

Ratings in Discussions

Here are a few tips about rating Discussion postings in D2L:

• The "ratings" functionality in the "settings" area of the discussion forum is not selective.  That is, this feature is either ON for all users, discussions, and topics in a course site, or it is OFF.

• Ratings are NOT an instructor-only or instructor-to-student activity. Both students and instructors can rate all posts, including their own.

• Instructors cannot "hide" ratings from students; again, the ratings option is either "on" or "off" for all users in the course site.  

• Students see only the rating *they* awarded to a post.  Students can NOT see the *average* rating of any post, nor can they see the ratings awarded by others to posts they have authored.

• Students can NOT see the statistics icon on the left side of the Discussions page. Therefore, they cannot see the list of students with the ratings associated with them.

• Turning off the ratings functionality does not wipe out the ratings themselves.  When this feature is toggled off and then on again, the previously-entered ratings are restored.

Instructor FAQ: When does my course become INactive?

Once the instructor makes a D2L course site "Active," it will remain active until the instructor makes it inactive.

Here is how to make a D2L course site "Inactive" -- that is, invisible to students:

- Click on [Edit Course] on the main navigation bar
- click on [Course Offering Information]
- UNcheck "Is Active?"
- Click [Save]

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – September 2011

Students Viewing Quiz Scores

Students View: For viewing Quiz scores

1. Click the [Quizzes] tab
2. Click the [Submissions] icon to reveal score.

3. To view the attempt details, click the [Attempt 1] or [Attempt 2] links.

D2L News -- Course Home Page

If you are concerned with the amount of space taken up by the "D2L News" and the "Role Switch" in the left-hand column of the Course Home page -- we have good news!

First, the students do NOT see the same width column on the left, because they do not see the "Role Switch" tool.

Second, instructors can make the column narrow by simply closing or minimizing the "Role Switch" box. Just click on the double-arrows icon on the right side of the title bar! See below for a screen shot.

Quizzing: Submission Views

Question: After the quiz period is over, I'd like to show the students what they got wrong. How do I do this?

Answer: Set up a quiz Submission View to be released to students at a specific date and time, and choose the information they will see.

To begin, go the the [Quizzes] area of your course site and click Edit Quiz.

Then click on the [Submission Views] tab at the top.

Then click on [Add Additional View]. (See the screen shot below.)






Sample Submission View

1. Choose a name for the Submission View.

2. This Submission View is only available to students after a specific date and time.

3. Make choices from the options available. This particular Submission View allows students to see each question *with* their responses, but does not show them the correct answers. Students can also see their score on each question, and their overall score for the Quiz.

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – September 2011

Internet Explorer - Confusing Security Message

From Alan:

Folks, this message has begun to appear in the past month or so in IE, and it's gonna be a big problem for us.

If you look at it, you realize that it's precisely backwards -- the natural inclination is to hit 'yes' but if you do you don't get your stuff to work.

Instead, you have to hit 'no' to proceed.

Edit properties of multiple items - various tools

Okay! I missed this entirely when the latest release came out! Many thanks to Mary in Stevens Point for pointing it out to me -- so I can share it with you!

So now you can edit multiple items in all these tools, besides the Grades tool that I posted about yesterday:

• Content
• Dropbox
• Grades
• Links
• Surveys

Here are the properties in each of these tools that are bulk-editable:



CONTENT:
• Title
• Short Title
• Hide
• Hide Enumeration












GRADES:
• Name
• Short Name
• Maximum Points
• Weight
• Bonus
• Can Exceed
• Grade Scheme
• Category







DROPBOX:
• Folder Name
• Dropbox Category
• Date availability




























LINKS:
• Name
• URL
• Description
• Category





















SURVEYS:
• Name
• Category
• Status

Grade Item Statistics: Student View

Question:

Is there a way to toggle off the statistics from the students' view in the Grades area? Some of faculty are concerned about students being able to see statistical graph of how the class is doing.

Answer: Yes! Here's how....

To hide or display class statistics for a particular grade item:

1. Click Grades, then Manage Grades

2. Click on the name of the grade item you wish to change

3. Click on "Show Display Options"

4. Choose whether or not to display statistics for that grade item.

5. Save.

Making the course "Active"

At UW-Milwaukee, prior to each semester, we create D2L sites for all the courses we believe *might* use D2L ... but the instructor is the ultimate decision-maker about whether to actually make D2L part of the class.

By default, then, a new UWM D2L site is "Inactive" so it will not be visible to students unless the instructor chooses to use it.

Many instructors leave their sites "inactive" until they have their content, discussions, quizzes, etc. ready for students to see.

When you are ready to make your site visible to students, here's what you do:

• Click on [Edit Course] on the main navigation bar, then
  
• click on [Course Offering Information]
  
• check the box beside "Is Active?"
  
• [Save]

Reminder: At UWM, the "Start" and "End" dates have no effect on whether students can see your course site.

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – September 2011

"Student View"

Question:

How can I see what the students see in D2L?

When I use the Role Switch or "preview" function in the Dropbox and Quizzes, I don't see the submissions when I switch back to my role as an Instructor!

Answer:

Although the Role Switch and the "preview" links in various tools are both designed to show an instructor what an "average" student SEES ... it doesn't fully mimic what a student DOES.

Neither Role Switch nor "preview" is actually associated with a real USER in the D2L database -- so operations you perform in these "student view" roles do not have the same effect as when a real student performs them.

In other words, since there's no real user attached to the Role Switch or preview, there is no place for the instructor to *see* a quiz attempt or a file submitted to a Dropbox.

(The Role Switch student will also not see restricted Discussions!)

A special note about Grades:

Using the Role Switch, the instructor will be unable to see anything in Grades, since there is neither grade data nor an actual user associated with this view.

To see a *particular* student's view of their own Grades, click on the name of the student in the Enter Grades area, then click on Preview.

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – September 2011